[widgitmaster]

First off, the digital caliper's display is usually a four place decimal.
The digital calipers do not have a rack gear to collect dirt, causing the pinion to jump over and loose position.
The digital calipers are electronic & magnetic, and with the proper battery will last over a year.
Many high production shops will not allow dial calipers to be used by machine operators in production, just for setups.
Digital calipers are self calibrating.
The digital calipers can be used as a comparison standard for ID, OD & depth measurement, by using a gage block, pin or ring to zero the caliper to the destination dimension. Then by measuring a production part, the deviation is shown with four place decimal precision. This eliminates common math errors, and gives the user an accurate plus/minus number to make adjustments by.

Widgit

[toastydeath]

Anyone who really is concerned about the issues you are discussing should not be using calipers, period. They should reach for a micrometer or higher accuracy equipment.

Any caliper, at all, is not designed for close measurement. Even the best digital calipers do not have a full four place decimal, just three and one bastardized fourth place. I've zeroed plenty of dial calipers out on pins and blocks just like I zero out electronic equipment. It's also not difficult to open up, clean, and re-zero a dial caliper when it gets dirty and jumps.

Electronic calipers easy to use, hard to mis-read? Yes. This is the only emphasis that should be placed on electronic over dial.

All the other stuff are overstated advantages, at best.

[widgitmaster]

Now that's interesting, I would have never expected such a hostile response!
When I made this post, I was trying to pass on some food for thought to all the new DIY people who frequent the CNCzone!

Have a nice day with your chunk of coal!
Widgit

[Mike Mattera]

I hate the fact that everything is on battery power now. I saw a digital tire air gage the other day. Now If I stick that in my glove box, most likely when I really need it, the battery will be dead.

I like my mechanical calipers. They always work. Keep them in their case, keep them clean and they'll last a lifetime.

I agree with Toastydeath. If you need precision measurement (.0001) get a micrometer.

Mike Mattera

[jhowelb]

I bought a digital tire gauge for my wife a couple of years ago. (you gotta KNOW that she isn't gonna fidget long with ANY thing that just pops up!) She lost it almost immediately.

Now a few days ago, cleaning up in the garage I ran across it. Tried it on her tires, works great. So much for the concern for batteries.

Can't speak for others but I don't see how I'd get much done in my home shop without digital calipers.
I think it was a great tip for nu-bees. Very thoughtful of you widgetmaster, keep up the good works!

THANKS!

[samco]

I would never go back to dial calipers. Sure the batteries go dead.. I think the cheap digital caliper I have will last at least a year. I can use them down to +/- .002 comfortable (I would say .001 but others would get upset ). Yes anything that needs a bit better measurement - the thimble micrometers come out. They are so inexpenive now - I don't really worry about them compared to the dial calipers. Just being able to measure hole centers without thinking is enought for me

sam

[toastydeath]

I'm not saying digis are a bad idea, that's all I've got myself. In both calipers and micrometers.

My hostility is simple, and probably misdirected; digital calipers are a great idea. But everyone seems to overstate, perhaps unintentionally, the improvement of digital over dial. Calipers are, insofar as measurement goes, a pretty crappy tool. Versatile? Sure. Quick? Absolutely. Are either good for things you care deeply about? Not by a long shot.

So the comparison is relative levels of crappyness, and the difference between a good set of dial calipers and a good set of electronic calipers is almost nothing from an end result standpoint. Digital is more idiot proof in reading, and a bit more resistant to dirt. There's some additional creature comfort on a digital, but not much else.

When I don't have my expensive fancy calipers, there are many times I go for a set of dial calipers over digital. It comes down to feel and repeatability, no matter what the readout method is. I can cope with a dial that's out consistently two thou in the range I care about, I can't deal with a digital that's got a stiff movement and can't decide what number it wants to read. And vise versa.

That's the real measure of a caliper - accuracy, ease of use, and all the other crap is peripheral. Repeatability and feel is what every caliper must have, and many in both dial and electronic do not have either. If you find a dial caliper that has a great feel in your hand and reads the same thing every single time you measure a dimension, that's your caliper. If you can get those two properties in digital, do it and don't look back. But if you happen to fall in love with a dial, don't sweat the lack of circuitry. It's a great feature to have, but it isn't the most important.

[martinw]

OK, shoot me down.

Resolution has nothing to do with accuracy.

My tin hat is on...

Best wishes,

Martin

[jhowelb]

I'm not saying digis are a bad idea, that's all I've got myself. In both calipers and micrometers.

My hostility is simple, and probably misdirected;........

Don't getyer knickers ina knot lad, we'll letya keep yer dials, and yer buggy whip too! What ever blows yer skirt up is fine!


(Just thought it was numerous that there could be hostility on the subject!)

Every swinging Johnson out there has to do things his own way just to make it feel right. Let's just not dissuade folks from passing things on to the yunguns!

:banana::wee::banana::wee::banana:

[Caprirs]

A company I worked for years ago had four people working in the inspection department with another guy supervising. One day, I gave the supervisor a pair of calibrated calipers and micrometers along with a couple of very simple parts to inspect. He handed each of his inspectors the parts, the measuring tools, and a sheet to fill in the numbers. The data spread between four people using the same calipers on the same parts was approximately .0016" and with the micrometers .0008".

The company often had to reject incoming parts from vendors due to some tight tolerances. The experiment was to demonstrate how difficult it was to hold our vendors to +/-.0003" tolerance on some dimensions when we were not capable of inspecting to that level.

Just because the tool measures to a certain resolution, do not assume it is accurate to that same decimal place.

[Geof]

OK, shoot me down.

Resolution has nothing to do with accuracy.

My tin hat is on...

Best wishes,

Martin

Not quite correct (I think) . It is sort of non-commutative isn't it? If you have poor resolution you can never have good accuracy because you don't know where you are. However, you can have good resolution, so you always get to the same place, but if the accuracy is poor you always get to the same wrong place.

And for all you young guys who have never learnt better...Verniers are the way to go.

Or alternatively the bow calipers with a precision steel rule and the multiple measurement system I described in details months ago whereby you derive a statistically significant figure for the true dimension.

[Kiwi]

As the USA still uses the imperial system, I assume the use of fractions (1/2, 5/8, 13/16 etc) is the normal.
How many out there use the imperial verniers with 1/16 and the vernier scale having 8 divisions, each equal to 1/128in.
eg 7/16 + 7/128 = 56/128 + 7/128 = 63/128 ??????????

[dertsap]

for all you young guys who have never learnt better...Verniers are the way to go.

.

i bought a pair of verniers for my workshop because their nearly indestructable , problem is i haven t freed up the time to get glasses so i can read them .



i think they all have their place , i like digitals for quick checks and for the times i don t feel like dragging out my calculator , when it comes to a larger scale , verniers can t be beat for price durability and reliability .
and when i want decent measurements i pull out the dial calipers

one thing i don t like about digitals , i have had frightfully sick feelings in my gut a few times when i thought ive overcut something and i later realize i forgot to reset the zero

they are all accurate , i think i boils down to personal preferance and the kind of crap your knee deep in

[Geof]

i bought a pair of verniers for my workshop because their nearly indestructable , problem is i haven t freed up the time to get glasses so i can read them ....

That is a good point, I did use a magnifying glass sometimes.

To answer Kiwi yes I have used the fractional Verniers and used to have all the decimal equivalents ready in my memory. Now I have to think a bit.

[Mcgyver]

well i prefer the dial calipers. same reason as digital isn't going to replace analogue gauges in an automobile, or at least isn't an improvement when one of the gimmick makers does so. a caliper is a roughing tool for me, - the position of the needle tells a lot. without bothering to take reading or do any math i know i have say another 60 something thou to take of so i advance the cross slide 25, hit the feed and go get a mic to finish it off.

many times you're just looking for an approximation (heck that's all calipers are for), like when searching through material rack/bins, having to read and processes digits is more work than the quick visual the needle provides.

[Geof]

well i prefer the dial calipers. same reason as digital isn't going to replace analogue gauges in an automobile,....

Maybe somewhere there is a fake analogue/digital caliper somewhat like the circular bar graph display where a coloured arc moves aroung a circle giving an analogue effect to a digital display.

And how about the correlation to the type of watch you wear? How many people prefer a digital watch to an analogue?

[Caprirs]

And how about the correlation to the type of watch you wear? How many people prefer a digital watch to an analogue?

Let me guess. You have to wind your watch.

[Geof]

Let me guess. You have to wind your watch.

All battery; three analogue, one digital and one binary.

[Caprirs]

I'm disappointed that such a self-professed old guy would have a digital watch.

[ImanCarrot]

If you leave digital calipers in our lab and leave it, it will get nicked. Verniers wont cos the youg guys dun know how to use em Oh! we're metric over here in the UK so leave imperial verniers and that totaly confuses the *&7&^**'s